The 2008 Conference took place from 25 - 27 January at the Marriott Royal Hotel in Bristol. The programme was wide-ranging with high quality, forward looking presentations which reported many exciting new developments and projects in geographical education.
PowerPoint presentations and papers from the 2008 event can be accessed below. Please note: some presentations may have been adapted due to copyright restrictions
Geography Teacher Educators' Conference 2008
FRIDAY 25 JANUARY 2008
Transition from School to HE
Jean Dourneen
Jean shared her own experience of transition from teaching in secondary school to working in Higher Education with beginning teachers. She provided a useful theoretical overview to help analyse key aspects of transition, supported by examples of beginning teachers' work in the classroom.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (76k)
Download: Pupils' PowerPoint Presentation (48k)
Download: PDF Handout (76k)
The Role of the Geographical Association
David Lambert
David started by identifying delegates' perceptions of the role of the GA, before outlining the numerous and varied activities beyond the Action Plan for Geography which the GA is currently undertaking. These include subject support, resources, networking, and specific projects such as Living Geography, Places People Want and GIS.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (233k)
Weblink: About Us
Subjects to Change
David Lambert
David povided a critical overview of the curriculum, identifying three essential contributions to curriculum making: students, teachers and the subject. He suggested 'Living Geography' and 'Young People's Geographies' as useful to the critical debate with young people about how to live.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (1.97M)
Download: Doreen Massey - Is The World Really Shrinking (MP3) (1.5M)
Weblink: Living Geography
Making Connections: Working with Subject Knowledge
Clare Brooks
Clare shared her research findings on teachers' subject knowledge, making bridges between her research and what is needed in relation to curriculum planning. She suggested how it could be possible to psychologise the subject rather than merely receive it.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (167k)
Context and Power: The Subject Conceptions and Practice of Pre-service Geography Teachers in Singapore
Tricia Seow
Tricia shared her early research which explores the extent to which pre-service teachers' embodiment, and societal regulation of their bodies, affects their conceptions of Geography and their practice.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (611k)
SATURDAY 26 JANUARY 2008
Care, Well-being, Sustainability and Geography: What is this really about?
Simon Catling
Simon explored the concept of 'care' set in the context of the sustainability agenda, ECM, and Sustainable Schools. He argued that The ECM, Sustainable Schools and Children's Plan agendas provide a rationale for geography as an essential curriculum - indeed, whole school - subject.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (171k)
Understanding Student Conceptions of Sustainability
Nicola Walshe
Nicola shared her research findings based on Year 8 students' conceptions of sustainability. A key method was the use of concept mapping and pupils' understanding in relation to the three concepts of environmental, social and economic sustainability.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (848k)
Places People Want
Angus Willson
Angus argued the need for a more critical use of multimedia resources in relation to the settlement study. Through 'unsettling settlement' using a new DVD on sustainable communities, he explored how we can introduce and involve young people in developing a critical perspective on what makes a sustainable community.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (264k)
Weblink: Building Sustainable Communities
Weblink: Places People Want - online CPD unit
Curriculum Making – Issues for Using Teacher Created Resources Effectively
John Lyon & Nicky Reckless
John and Nicky brought delegates right up to date with the outcomes of the popular Action Plan 'curriculum-making' courses. A wealth of teacher-created resources have been produced and key issues were discussed in relation to teachers' CPD and future dissemination of materials.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (1.72M)
Weblink: Teacher-created resources on the Geography Teaching Today Website
Young People
Mary Biddulph
Mary's session stressed the importance of young people in the curriculum-making process and shared the outcomes of the Young People's Geographies project led by herself and Roger Firth.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (614k)
Weblink: Young People's Geographies (Website due for launch April 2008)
Teacher-to-Teacher: Young People's Geographies - Mary Biddulph & Emily Arnold, GA Annual Conference, Friday 28 March 2008, 15:10-15:30
Geography for Weekenders
Mark Jones
Mark presented a post-modernist perspective on Bristol's city centre suggesting different perspectives through which to view the city such as 'city as consumption', 'city as surveillance' and 'city as defensible space'.
Download: Word Handout (41k)
Geography of Sport
Steve Chubb
Steve shared his research findings which show an increasing recognition in schools of the value of using sport as way of engaging pupils in geography at KS3.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (183k)
Weblink: Fifa World Cup 2006 - GA 'Past Theme'
Weblink: Sports and Geography - GA 'Past Theme'
Shopping: Some Options from an Expert
Charles Rawding
Charles emphasised the dynamic nature of shopping's location and operation through notions of geographies of consumption - presenting shopping (like tourism) as one branch of consumption embedded in modernity.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (3.10M)
Weblink: Charles Rawding on Developing Cultural Geography - GA 'Think Piece'
SUNDAY 27 JANUARY 2008
E-Learning
David Mitchell
David presented an argument for e-learning, in particular GIS and its contribution to developing students' spatial thinking and other learning in geography.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (1.37M)
Download: GA Magazine PDF - Get started with GIS... on the internet... for free (59k)
Weblink: Spatially Speaking - GA Project
Weblink: GIS: Training the Trainers - GA GTE Project
Weblink: GIS in Geography Teaching and Learning - GA 'Think Piece'
ITT Exchange to Poland
Helen Gadsby
Helen presented an overview of the experiences gained through using the international dimension to promote active and reflective learning for both staff and students.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (1.68M)
Trainee Teachers: Changing Perspectives on Outdoor Education
Maureen O'Shaughnessy
Maureen analysed the value of an outdoor activity weekend in North Wales for both experienced teachers and beginning teachers.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (435k)
Weblink: Fieldwork (Primary) - GA 'Think Piece'
Weblink: Fieldwork (Secondary) - GA 'Think Piece'
Action Plan for Geography – An Update
John Lyon & Nicky Reckless
Nicky and John gave an update on the three interlinked programmes of the APG: Communication, Support and Development.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation (1.12M)
Weblink: Geography Teaching Today Website
Weblink: About the Action Plan
New GCSEs and Controlled Assessments
Paul Weeden
Paul presented an update on the development of Controlled Assessments, identifying how the level of control teachers might have (High - Medium - Low) could be applied to different aspects of the task: setting, taking and marking. Classroom examples were provided by Fred Martin.
Download: PowerPoint Presentation
Download: PowerPoint Presentation - Classroom Examples
Weblink: GA Assessment & Examinations Working Group
Teacher-to-Teacher: GCSE Controlled Assessment Goes Digital - Fred Martin, GA Annual Conference, Friday 28 March 2008, 11:50-12:10
Lecture: Introducing Controlled Assessments - Paul Weeden, GA Annual Conference, Saturday 29 March 2008, 15:10-16:00
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